I have used PVCS, SVN and Mercurial for source control over the years. Just recently got turned on to GitHub and I prefer it over all others that I've used. It has a really nice interface. Intuitive to use. A lot of my co-workers rave over Mercurial but it would be my least favorite. Don't even consider PVCS. I use JIRA on multiple projects for bug tracking. I would only suggest using it if you integrate it with your source control tool (and integrate your source control tool with your continuous integration tool (i.e. Parabuild or TeamCity)...if you're not using one you should consider it). :)

Great comment! I agree that there are things that a person can change that doesn't require management being on board but, for the most part, without management buy-in, the scope of that change is very limited. Pretty much limited to changing yourself and your personal practices. As far as the cliche of "management will never change", I didn't state, or imply that management wouldn't change. From personal experience, I know that they can and are often willing to change. The fact that they can is inherent in the "if/else" statement. If I thought that they couldn't change then I would have simply stated "leave". Also from personal experience, to have long-lasting, institutionalized change in a sizable organization, management has to be a part of that change.

True but only if(upper_managment_recognizes_current_direction_is_wrong && is_willing_to_support_change) cause_change; else leave; ;)

Hilarious! I'll add one more that one of my bosses used to say. 6. A fool with a tool is still a fool. The tool just makes him more dangerous.